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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Fingerprints!

I am so happy to type that title. Fingerprints! Our fingerprints for our I 800 A are complete! We received our invitation for biometrics earlier this week and were determined to complete them early. Jon had immediate success, but mine was not so favorable. I drove over an hour in terrible traffic, only to discover that my wallet was at home. Without photo ID, I couldn't get my prints done. I was so frustrated and angry that day!

Two days later, on our way out for vacation, I walked into the USCIS office in Philadelphia and was out in FIFTEEN MINUTES. God must have had mercy on me that day! The staff was very kind and everyone who helped me was wonderful. I know some of you are local to my area, and you may be adopting someday. Although I cannot stand where the USCIS office is located, the people in there could not have been kinder. The woman guard at the reception desk waved as I left, saying, "Good luck to you!" and I offered my sincere "Thank you!" and "God Bless!"

With that, we phoned our USCIS caseworker and informed her that we had completed our fingerprints, more than two weeks ahead of time. She was happy to hear this and we encouraged her to continue working on our application. I heard of a family who received their approval within one week of their biometrics. Could that be us? Could it???

Only God knows for sure, and as anxious as we are to meet our future son and finally see him with our own eyes, we must be patient, because God's timing is perfect.

For anyone local to us, we visited Storybook Land in New Jersey. It was a sweet and lovely little amusement park; not terribly inexpensive, but a wonderful afternoon nonetheless.

In New Jersey, they do not have real cows. (I am only kidding!)

A somewhat sour daughter, who wasn't happy that the "North Pole" felt so cold and wet. "Dry your hands?" she kept asking.

The happiest face...she would have ridden on the Merry Go Round forever. I wonder what her brother will think of a Merry Go Round?

There are some very serious conversations that go on with Daddy while sitting inside an amusement park balloon ride:

We both said (at different times) that we just knew there was room in that balloon for one more. We thought of him so often; what would he think of a place like this? What would he do with his sister? What would his sister do with him? When will we see him? When do we get to meet him?

I don't know the answer; only God knows that answer.

What I do know is that many people have cared enough to purchase things from us. To update you on the Avon purchases, six kind people have purchased Avon from me, and their purchases have netted over $100 toward our adoption fund! We could not be more pleased. THANK YOU. If you like Avon products, please purchase them from me! If you don't like Avon products - that's okay! There are so many ways to help! And if you truly cannot afford to help, I'll bet you can afford to take a moment and share our blog and story with others. If you could, could you click on the "Avon Lady" button, cut and paste my personal website (or just cut it from here: http://jennifermenges.avonrepresentative.com/ or www.youravon.com/jennifermenges ) and share it with others? That would help SO MUCH! And please let every person know - you don't have to live near me to buy Avon products from me! By choosing "direct delivery", your purchase will be shipped directly to you. And shipping costs nothing when you spend $30.

If you are local to me, I am happy to deliver to you! (Probably just an excuse to hang out, though, so be warned).

I know so many of you are praying for our little Dude, our little Joshua. You are praying and supporting our family. THANK YOU. Thank you. Thank you.

Please continue to support our fundraising efforts with contributions and prayer. We are moving ever closer to the day when we will travel on Trip 1 to meet our future son. We need your help to get there.

Thank you for caring for us, for sharing our story, and for your thoughts and prayers.